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James McBride Pays Tribute to His Mother

Journalist and musician James McBride. His recent book, is "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother," about his mother who was white and Jewish, but refused to admit her race. McBride's father was black. For years, McBride knew nothing about his mother's early life. It wasn't until he started work on the book,that she opened up to tell him that her father was a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, a racist, and he sexually abused her.

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Other segments from the episode on August 16, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, August 16, 1996: Interview with James McBride; Interview with Mary Karr; Commentary on a computer analysis of Republican National Convention speeches; Review of the film …
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15:23

Writer Mary Karr Reflects on Her Mother

Karr has two volumes of poetry The Devil's Tour, and Abacus. She won Pushcart Prizes for both poetry and essays, and her work appears in such magazines as Granta, Ploughshares, and Vogue. She has a new memoir called The Liars' Club, about growing up with her eccentric and secretive mother. (Rebroadcast)

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21:58

James McBride Pays Tribute to His Mother.

Journalist and musician James McBride. His new book, is "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother" (Riverhead) about his mother who was white and Jewish, but refused to admit her race. McBride's father was black. For years, McBride knew nothing about his mother's early life. It wasn't until he started work on the book, that she opened up to tell him that her father was a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, a racist, and he sexually abused her.

Interview

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